


fill in the gaps

by iridiumring92



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Claude with an OC for a bit, First Kiss, Flirting, Getting Together, Goddess Tower (Fire Emblem), M/M, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sexual Content, jealous Dimitri at first, light alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:07:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23020693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridiumring92/pseuds/iridiumring92
Summary: An encounter with Claude brings up feelings in Dimitri that he would have rather kept buried.Their subsequent meetings only bring the two of them closer.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 106





	fill in the gaps

**Author's Note:**

> title is from rising, rising by crywolf. "and i'll try to fill in the gaps, all of the cracks they left behind"
> 
> just as a warning, this *is* pre-timeskip, so 17 y/o claude and dimitri, and there *is* sexual content.

One morning, still half-asleep and fresh out of a recent haze of studying, Dimitri crosses the hall to talk to Claude. He’s been having a tough time with one of the books they’re reading in class, and he’s heard Claude understands tactics well, so he’s decided to go ask him about it, though the thought makes him more nervous than he figures it really should. Maybe it’s just that he, a house leader, feels that he shouldn’t find anything difficult. Or ask someone outside of his house for help. Either way, he knows that if he’s going to ask, he might as well seek Claude out.

He knocks on the door to Claude’s room and hears Claude saying something on the other side. He doesn’t speak loudly enough for Dimitri to understand, though, and Dimitri steps forward, wondering whether he should ask Claude to repeat himself.

Claude opens the door.

There’s a split second where Dimitri’s heart stops, and then he feels heat rush up into his cheeks, and he wishes he would have turned around and left while he still could.

Claude is standing there in all his unruly glory, his hair a tangled mess. He wears nothing but a pair of black pants, not his uniform pants, which ride low on his hips. He looks like he just rolled out of bed.

And, Dimitri notices, glancing into the room behind Claude, there’s someone else _in_ his bed.

“Dimitri?” Claude asks, and Dimitri gets the impression Claude has already said his name several times. “Did you need something, or are you just going to stand there?”

“I—I wanted to ask you about something,” Dimitri says, wishing his face weren’t so hot, “but it can wait. I didn’t realize I was . . . interrupting.”

“That’s all right, just give me a minute.” Claude leans on the door frame, pushing the door closed with a grin. “I’ll be ready to go soon. Won’t make you wait too long, I promise.”

* * *

For some reason, Dimitri feels like he might die of embarrassment.

As he waits outside in the hall, he tries not to think about what just happened, though that makes him think about it even more. His mind fixates on the details, and the ones it really should just dispose of—Claude’s bare chest, the casual way he leaned on the door, the figure half concealed in the sheets behind him. He’s really not sure why he feels the way he does. It should be Claude who’s embarrassed, shouldn’t it? And yet here he is in the hallway of the dormitory’s second floor, willing the blush to vanish from his cheeks.

The door to Claude’s room opens, and a girl steps out ahead of him, fully clothed and _very_ attractive, Dimitri notes. She’s not in his class. Once again he feels himself blushing as Claude calls after her, “See you later,” and she replies over her shoulder with a smile.

“You good to talk now, Dimitri?” Claude asks from the door. Dimitri says yes, and Claude beckons him into the room. “C’mon in. It’s like you’re next in line or something.” He glances over at Dimitri and winks.

The conversation that follows goes just about as badly as it can.

* * *

“Claude von Riegan, tell me I did not hear that you _flirted_ with Dimitri Blaiddyd.” Lorenz and Hilda sit across the table from Claude, and he leads with a harsh whisper, leaning half across the table. Hilda, of course, copies. As if they want everyone in the dining hall to know they’re having some sort of secret conversation.

“It was harmless,” Claude says. “I was just making a joke at him. I wasn’t trying to seduce him or anything.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “What, did someone hear about this and start spreading rumors that I tried to seduce Dimitri?”

Hilda starts to laugh, while Lorenz shakes his head in disappointment. “No, Claude, it’s nothing so dramatic as that. But let’s not forget that this happened in the dormitory. Sylvain was the one who tipped me off, and he seems like the type to gossip about this kind of thing.”

“Let me just go over this with you two one more time,” Claude says. “I was _not_ trying to take Dimitri to bed.”

“I sure hope you weren’t,” Hilda says, “because I don’t think your _lady friend_ would be very happy to hear about it.”

Claude makes a face. “Hey, officially, we aren’t together, okay?”

“Doesn’t mean she’d be glad to hear you’re also entertaining the attention of the Crown Prince of Faerghus.” Hilda clasps her hands on the table and leans in conspiratorially. “Claude, have you ever wondered whether, maybe, our dear Prince Dimitri is interested in men?”

“Uh . . .” Claude runs a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s not really my business. I mean, it wouldn’t be, unless I needed it for some sort of scheme, but . . . Anyway, I haven’t actually thought about it _that_ much, but if I were to guess one way or another, I think he does have a small degree of interest—”

“Wait, stop right there! Lorenz, do you see this? He’s _blushing_ ,” Hilda whispers excitedly.

“I am not,” Claude says. But he knows how perceptive Hilda and Lorenz can be, and he can feel the warmth in his cheeks, so he knows lying isn’t going to get him much of anywhere. Not right now.

* * *

Dimitri sits in the Blue Lions classroom, trying to concentrate on the book he’s reading. It’s impossible, with thoughts of this morning’s conversation with Claude occupying his mind. He’s grateful only that Dedue is at the training grounds at the moment. His retainer would have definitely noticed his lack of focus and asked if he was worried about something.

His solitude doesn’t last, however, as he hears footsteps in the room behind him and grimaces to himself. He tries at least to pretend he’s studying and hopes it’s no one too troublesome.

“Dimitri?” a voice asks, and Dimitri tries not to wince. It’s Byleth, naturally. Of course, if there was anyone he could ask about this, it would be their professor, but that doesn’t make him any less nervous about it. “Are you doing all right over here?”

“More or less,” Dimitri sighs and looks up at them. Byleth circles the table where he’s sitting and perches on the one in front of him, feet resting on the chair.

“You want to talk?” they ask, leaning forward slightly, a look of concern and caring gracing their features.

“I . . . do.” Dimitri shifts uneasily in his chair. “But I’m a little apprehensive about doing it here.”

“You could’ve sent me a note,” Byleth points out with an encouraging smile. “Otherwise, I can see the door. If I see anyone, I’ll let you know.”

Dimitri lets loose a sigh, one that feels strangely of relief. He starts to recount the situation to Byleth. Claude half-dressed in the doorway, the girl in his room. The conversation they had after that. Dimitri asking him about their studies and Claude answering easily, as if nothing happened. Dimitri hearing nothing, still so distracted by the sight of Claude shirtless. Blindsided by his feelings. If they even are feelings.

Byleth is smiling faintly when he finishes talking. It’s not a mocking smile, not teasing. It somehow manages to convey that _I’m glad you told me_ look, which makes Dimitri feel a hell of a lot better despite that Byleth hasn’t spoken yet.

“It sounds like you’re jealous,” Byleth says gently. At the look on Dimitri’s face, they add, “Sometimes giving a name to the feeling helps. Anyway, you might be jealous of the person who’s with Claude or Claude himself, just for having that relationship you don’t have. I can’t say for you. If that doesn’t help, maybe there’s someone else you can vent to about it.”

Dimitri sighs. He knows the answer to Byleth’s unspoken question, but he doesn’t like it. “There’s some kind of rule against house leaders . . . going out with each other, isn’t there?”

Byleth lifts a shoulder. “I’ve never heard of one.”

“I almost wish there were,” Dimitri mutters under his breath. “Then it would be out of the question.”

“Dimitri,” Byleth says. “If you ever need someone to talk to about this, I’m here. All right? This stays between us, and any future conversations will, too.”

Dimitri gives a nod. “I appreciate it.”

He only has a slightly easier time focusing after that. _I’ve never heard of one._ This time his conversation with Byleth is the one that rings in his ears.

* * *

Dimitri is awake, walking outside the dorms another night, when he hears someone say his name. He turns to find Claude standing behind him, hands in his pockets. He’s grinning. “You’re awake too?”

Dimitri turns fully to face him, clears his throat. “You’re not with your . . .” He blinks, already wondering if he’s stepped out of line by mentioning Claude’s . . . girlfriend? Partner? Lover? “I mean . . . what are you doing up?”

Claude gives a tight smile. Dimitri can tell it’s not sincere, not compared to the look on his face when he’d first stepped out. _Strange_. He’s not sure if it’s due to his comment or to something that happened before. “I broke it off with her,” he says. “I was talking to Lorenz and Hilda, and they said . . . well. I decided I should give it up. She didn’t seem too hurt, but you know how it goes with breakups.”

“I . . . don’t. Not really.” Dimitri shifts uncomfortably. He doesn’t want to outright lie to Claude, but at the same time, he doesn’t like the idea of Claude knowing that he’s never been in a relationship.

“Oh. Of course,” Claude says. “Sorry, I forgot. Prince of Faerghus, cold place, all that.”

Dimitri swallows hard. “It’s not . . . I just . . .”

“Wow. Did I just render Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd speechless?” Claude teases him, winking. “Hey, look, I get it. Still. You’re at the Officers Academy. You’re allowed to have flings every once in a while if you feel like it.”

Dimitri runs his hand through his hair, looking at the ground. He senses Claude taking a step closer, and he really wishes he wouldn’t, since he can feel the blush creeping across his cheeks.

“Or don’t you feel like it, Dimitri?” Claude asks, softly.

“Would you mind . . . taking this conversation somewhere else?” Dimitri says, finally forcing his eyes back up to meet Claude’s. “I’d rather we didn’t talk about private matters right outside the dormitory like this.”

Claude makes an acknowledging noise. “Sure. Where do you wanna go? My room?”

Dimitri feels heat rush into his cheeks again. He hopes no one can overhear them, because Claude inviting him to his room during this discussion sounds rather presumptuous. But where else are they going to go at this time? “I’m not sure where else we’d be allowed in the middle of the night.”

“Yeah? Well, if you think of somewhere else, we can always go there.” Claude turns to lead them back toward the stairs that will take them up to the dormitory’s second floor, and Dimitri, already dizzy with nerves, follows. He can’t stop thinking about the fact that Claude’s . . . girl was here. Following Claude—or perhaps leading him, Dimitri doesn’t know—to his room, sharing his bed. He can’t fight the rest of the thoughts that fight their way to the surface—

The way his mind wandered in those nights between their awkward meeting in the hallway and now, when he’d remember seeing Claude in the doorway, with that girl in his bed in the room beyond, and he couldn’t stop the forward progress of his thoughts to Claude lying naked in his bed, or of trading places with that girl. He’d picture Claude undressed, and then he’d wish he’d just left it alone and try to chase the image from his mind, but it wouldn’t go. He’d think of being in Claude’s bed, the pleasure he could give him—and then he’d have to turn over and bury his face in his pillow to muffle the sounds he made as he slipped a hand beneath the waist of his pants.

Claude closes the door behind them, and Dimitri, wiping sweaty palms on his pants, sits down at Claude’s desk. Claude remains standing. “So, you’ve never had a relationship, Your Princeliness?” he asks with a little teasing grin.

“No,” Dimitri admits. “I just . . . it never seemed like there was time. And I didn’t think about it much before I came to the Officers Academy.”

“So you have thought about it, since you got here?” Claude asks, leaning against the wall with the window, resting an arm on the sill. “Or is that just because I made you think about it?”

Dimitri doesn’t respond. His eyes flick to the floor, and once they’re there, he can’t make himself look up again. This is where he should change the subject, ask about how to coax himself to sleep on nights like this, or about what they’re studying in class. But his voice won’t work, and he hopes that Claude will change the subject instead, so this conversation doesn’t become as awkward as the one they had before.

“Dimitri.” Claude takes a few steps forward, so that he’s in front of Dimitri, and reaches out to tip his chin up, forcing Dimitri to look at him. He’s still smiling. Dimitri wishes he hadn’t come closer—his skin, his _lips_ , look so soft, and his eyes are searching and sincere, and— “You ever been kissed before?”

Dimitri hesitates. “No,” he says, and to his own ears, his voice sounds small.

“You wanna give it a shot?”

It takes Dimitri’s mind a moment to catch up. At first he thinks Claude must be daring him to kiss a girl, and then he realizes that kissing _Claude_ would be a whole lot less work for them both, considering that they’re right here in the same room.

“I—” He can’t speak for a moment. He wants, so badly, to just say no and run back to his own room, but at the same time, he knows that if he does he’ll have too many regrets to shoulder for one night. _Goddess,_ yes, he wants to try with Claude, and since he’s offering, it doesn’t make sense to say no. “Yes,” he whispers at last.

Claude leans in, his hand still cupping Dimitri’s jaw. His eyes flutter closed as his mouth brushes against Dimitri’s, and Dimitri realizes, after a moment, that he should close his eyes, too, though it’s disorienting as hell. He doesn’t know how to kiss back, understands belatedly the way Claude’s lips are moving against his, and his fingertips working gently at the skin of his jawline. Dimitri finds his own lips are dry. He licks his lips and ends up getting Claude’s lips, too, his teeth, and Claude makes an appreciative noise.

“Yeah, there you go, Dimitri. More of that.” He can feel Claude’s breath against his own mouth, and for some reason the praise arouses him more than he’d ever be willing to admit. He presses his lips to Claude’s, his hand fumbling into the dark strands of Claude’s hair, his tongue exploring Claude’s lower lip and finding teeth again. Claude moans a little into that kiss, and Dimitri kisses him harder in response.

Claude pulls away after a moment, straightening before sliding easily into Dimitri’s lap, and Dimitri bites back a strangled sound of protest at the friction of Claude’s thigh against his growing arousal. He can feel a flush running across his face again. He shouldn’t be this turned on just from kissing, he thinks, even though it’s his first time. Claude must think he’s frustrated, inexperienced.

“Oh,” Claude says softly. He leans in for another slow kiss, one that Dimitri returns more fervently than he probably should. He wraps an arm around Claude’s neck to keep him there and lets Claude draw his lower lip in between his teeth. With a small noise of pleasure, Dimitri tries to chase after him, kiss him again, but Claude presses a finger to Dimitri’s lips. “You sure you don’t want me to take care of that for you?”

Dimitri sucks in a breath. “I shouldn’t be this . . . this . . .” He clenches his jaw.

Claude laughs. “No, it’s all right,” he says, and guides one of Dimitri’s hands between his thighs, revealing that he’s hard, too. Dimitri snatches his hand back. “You really haven’t done this before, have you?” It’s barely a question.

“I’m sorry,” Dimitri says almost under his breath, dropping his forehead to Claude’s shoulder and closing his eyes.

“Hey. None of that,” Claude says affectionately. He runs a hand through Dimitri’s hair and draws a shiver from him. “Come here. Stand up.”

Dimitri does as he asks, and as Claude gets down on his knees, starting to undo the ties on Dimitri’s pants, Dimitri’s heart stutters. “What are you—Claude, no, wait.” He grabs Claude’s wrist, stopping him. “You don’t have to do that. I—I mean, I’ve never done this, either.”

“What if I want to do it?” Claude asks, mirth in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. “Would you let me do it then? For you?”

Dimitri feels his nostrils flare at the thought. He doesn’t know how much he’ll be able to take before he unravels completely, but _hell._ He would have already said yes if he wasn’t so certain that his inexperience and Claude’s obvious proficiency weren’t going to take him apart in a matter of heartbeats. “Do you? Truly?”

“I want to,” Claude says, and one of his hands runs up and down Dimitri’s thigh. “Will you let me, Dimitri?”

“ _Yes_.” Dimitri’s voice is breathy, and he bites his lip hard as he watches Claude go to work on the strings of his pants, reaching past the waist of them to pull Dimitri out and stroke him slowly. Dimitri’s hips strain toward his grasp almost uncontrollably. He has to turn his head aside and close his eyes for a moment, but when Claude stops what he’s doing, Dimitri sucks in a breath and looks down at him again.

“You okay?” Claude asks.

Dimitri reminds himself to breathe, looking down at Claude’s open expression, his green eyes, his full, wet lips. “I’m okay.” He chokes out the words, not sure that he really is okay, but Claude takes him at his word, and then, a moment later, he takes him into his mouth.

Dimitri lets out a groan and tips his head back, hoping that not looking will help him last, but he can’t seem to banish the image of Claude’s lips around him, one hand holding him in place. He tries to keep his voice down, but his breath keeps escaping him in low moans. He glances down again at Claude, his head bobbing, tongue flicking out. “Claude—damn it— _Claude_ ,” Dimitri moans, and then without any warning at all he reaches his climax.

His knees go weak and he feels the sensations crash over him, forcing another strangled sound out between his teeth. He gasps for air. Claude swallows around him, tucks him back into his pants, and guides him down to sit on the floor so that he can kiss him again.

“I’m ruined,” Dimitri says into his shoulder as soon as Claude pulls away.

“You did all right.”

“I finished too fast, didn’t I,” Dimitri says, and Claude turns his head to kiss his temple. “And you didn’t have to . . . to . . .”

“Don’t worry about it,” Claude says. Dimitri can hear the smile in his voice. “You felt good.”

Dimitri feels another pulse of heat low in his stomach and groans. “Please don’t. Not right now. I’m finished.” He remembers, belatedly, Claude’s own arousal at their closeness, and blinks, sitting up. “Oh— _oh_ , Claude, did you need me to—”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Claude kisses him at the corner of his mouth. “Unless you really want to. But you did just say you were finished.”

“I could—um,” Dimitri begins, unsure what exactly to say to get his point across and feeling warmth creep into his face. “I can use my hands . . . ?”

Claude’s grin pulls up one side of his lips. “That sounds fine,” he says. His tone says it sounds more than fine. “Bed?”

Dimitri nods, unable to find any more words. If he was nervous about before, he’s almost more nervous now, unsure if his barely-skilled hands will be able to bring Claude the same pleasure. “Tell me,” he says, shakily, “if I need to . . . to do something differently.”

Claude shakes his head, as if to say _don’t worry about it_ , and takes Dimitri’s hand to guide him to the bed. Dimitri tries not to think about the fact that he’s actually _here_ after all the time he spent thinking about it. Claude lies back, pushing his pants down over his hips, and Dimitri hopes that his palms aren’t sweaty, wrapping one hand around him as he’s done to himself and beginning to move, slowly at first and then faster.

Claude watches him at first, but then he bites his lip and clutches at the sheets, his hips bucking up into Dimitri’s hand. “Yeah, just like that—right _there_ — _yes,_ Dimitri— _Dimitri_ —”

He comes hard over Dimitri’s hand. Dimitri has just enough time to admire him, all of him, as he finds his pleasure, his face contorting and his hips rising up off the mattress, hands clawing at the sheets. Dimitri wonders, as Claude comes back down from the height of his climax, what it would be like to see all of him undressed like this, his muscles tensing as he came, his bare skin golden in the low light. He lets Claude bask in his pleasure for a few moments while he cleans himself up. A few moments later, he comes back to the bed.

“Felt really good,” Claude murmurs, his eyes half-lidded in the wake of what they’ve just done, one arm thrown partly over his face. “I mean _really_ good, Dimitri. It’s almost like you _have_ done this before.” He shifts his arm just in time to see Dimitri blush. “I’m kidding. But your hands, gods. I want them all over me next time.”

“Next time?” Dimitri asks before he can stop himself.

Claude’s arm shifts again, and one surprised green eye peeks out from beneath it. “Oh. I didn’t mean it like that. Only if you want to have a next time, of course. If you don’t, that’s, uh . . . I guess ‘totally fine’ would be a bit of an overstatement, because of course I’d miss you and your . . . well. If you really don’t want to do this again, I understand.”

“I just didn’t think you would want to with . . . with me,” Dimitri says softly. “Since I’m . . . new to this.”

“Nah.” Claude grins and tugs Dimitri down by a sleeve. He draws him in for a kiss, and then another, and another. “I kind of like you a lot, Dimitri, if you haven’t noticed. Whether you’re experienced or not isn’t gonna change that.”

Dimitri blushes again. He bites his lip, willing the warmth in his cheeks to dissipate, but it doesn’t. Claude smirks and continues kissing him. Within a few heartbeats Dimitri isn’t sure if he’ll ever be able to wrench himself away from Claude again. He wants to stay forever, revel in this warmth and privacy.

“You want to stay the night?” Claude asks at last. “Or did you wanna go back to your own room?”

Dimitri is lying beside him, or mostly beside him, one of his legs thrown over Claude’s, his face buried in his neck and an arm hooked over his torso. “I’m too tired to go back to my room,” he murmurs. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay.”

“No problem at all,” Claude says, holding him closer. Dimitri can hear the grin in his voice. He doubts morning will be any easier, disentangling himself from Claude, his sleep-heavy limbs. At least this way, he’s allowed to steal a little extra time, if only a little.

* * *

Dimitri is at the door to his room in the early hours of the next morning when he hears a voice—a husky, deadpan voice he would both recognize anywhere and doesn’t want to hear right now. “ _What_ are you doing?”

Dimitri resists the urge to rub sleep from his eyes and turns to face Felix, who’s dressed in baggy sleep clothes, his hair a matted mess over one of his shoulders. “I went for a walk.”

Felix snorts. “What _kind_ of walk?” he asks, and Dimitri hopes he doesn’t blush at that question. “I heard you leave last night, but I never heard you come back.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Who are you sleeping with?”

“Felix, not so loud,” Dimitri says, but Felix raises his eyebrows as if to reply, _Make me._ “I would rather not talk about this in the middle of the hallway.”

“So what, you’re going to invite me to your room?” Felix asks, frowning. “What’s worse, the rumor that the boar prince has a lover, or that he sleeps around?”

“ _Felix._ ” Dimitri presses a hand to his forehead, hating that his face feels warm already. It’s too early in the morning for Felix’s verbal abuse, and after he’s just finished with the high of being in Claude’s bed besides. “I’ll speak with you later.” He slips into his room, pushing the door shut behind him. He hears Felix’s surprised protests from outside, but he ignores them, leaning heavily against the door and locking it.

He throws himself on his bed, Felix’s words reverberating in his mind. He hates that Felix spoke them aloud. Part of him wishes he could go back and decline the trip to Claude’s room, and that makes him hate both himself and Felix even more. He shouldn’t have done what he did with Claude. Felix shouldn’t have brought it up. He finds his thoughts running in circles until he falls into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Dimitri looks exhausted. Claude watches him out of the corner of his eye for nearly the whole morning. He has shadows under his eyes, and in them. He’s no less beautiful than he’s ever been. Still, the sight of him deep in such worry unsettles Claude, makes him wonder what he can do to help.

He tries to approach Dimitri on multiple occasions, but Dimitri escapes each time, claiming he’s too tired and they can talk later. Claude lets him go. He knows Dimitri isn’t lying to him—he needs rest, Claude can see it in his face. But he wonders what Dimitri’s true thoughts are. Whether he regrets what they did last night. Whether someone found out.

Claude sits with Lorenz and Hilda again at dinner, and he must look like he’s sulking, because they both call him out on it immediately. Afterward, they start talking over each other and Claude looks between them, bewildered.

“Is it your ex-girlfriend?” Hilda asks a little too loudly.

“Were you with someone last night?” Lorenz asks.

Hilda’s gaze snaps to him. “Lorenz! Why didn’t you say something earlier? Your room is right next to his!”

“You wouldn’t let me speak,” Lorenz says irritably. “I wasn’t trying to, Claude, but I heard voices from your room last night.”

“Oh yeah? What’d you hear?” Claude asks. He props his chin on one hand, hoping he doesn’t blush. He really doesn’t need Lorenz knowing anything about what happened between him and Dimitri last night. He hopes that Lorenz wasn’t awake studying. That he was only half awake and thought he was imagining things.

Lorenz glances around them, then leans in closer and lowers his voice. “I suppose I could have been mistaken,” he says, “but I am fairly certain I heard Dimitri saying your name. More than once.”

“Oh.” Claude feels warmth rush into his cheeks. “Damn.”

“ _Claude!_ ” Hilda practically shouts. Claude shields his face with a hand. He really doesn’t need half the dining hall looking at them. When Hilda speaks next, she leans in just as Lorenz had and lowers her voice to a vicious hiss. “What the _hell_ did you do to our Prince Dimitri?”

Claude raises his hands. “Nothing he didn’t want me to do. And—and _besides,_ we shouldn’t be talking about this in here. Gods know who might be listening.”

“I would agree with you, but you did already . . . do things with Dimitri last night. You should hope Felix didn’t hear you as well,” Lorenz says.

Claude groans. “Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Lorenz.”

* * *

Dimitri stays late in the library. He’s spent all day avoiding Claude, and while part of him feels guilty about it, he also doesn’t know how he can face Claude—or anyone, really—after his conversation with Felix this morning. He wasn’t even able to get back to sleep after they talked.

He stares at the book in front of him and at his notes, but none of the words are making sense. What’s worse, he wonders, avoiding Claude, or talking to him again and being reminded relentlessly of what happened last night, of what Felix thinks? He hates both options, and so here he is, trying to drown his thoughts in studying and failing miserably.

The clock has struck eleven when he hears someone else enter the library. Even Lysithea isn’t here tonight, which is odd, since he’s witnessed Claude scolding her for studying too much and not getting enough rest on several occasions. In any case, he’s mostly glad to have been alone, but naturally his solitude couldn’t last.

A hand skates across the back of his chair, and a voice says, “Hey,” before someone sits down beside him.

“Claude,” Dimitri says, unsure how he should react.

“You doing okay?” Claude asks. “Can we talk now?”

“You want to talk here?”

“If that’s okay with you,” Claude says. “Otherwise, we can try somewhere else. My room?” Dimitri hopes he hasn’t winced, but Claude seems to have noticed a reaction, because he continues. “Maybe the cathedral? Or the common room, if you want somewhere closer?”

Dimitri sighs. “Nowhere around here guarantees privacy, even at this time of night. Still, I should think the common room would be all right.”

Claude agrees, and they walk in silence to the common room, on the other side of the building. Dimitri is nervous the whole way there, his palms sweaty, his thoughts a jumble of questions. When they reach their destination, Claude sinks easily into a chair and crosses one leg over the other.

“Can we talk about last night?” Claude asks as Dimitri stiffly seats himself in the chair next to him.

Dimitri sighs, closing his eyes so he won’t have to look directly at Claude. He needs to talk about what happened last night, and at the same time, he never wants to think of it again. “I suppose,” he says finally.

Claude leans forward, and Dimitri meets his eyes, no matter how much he wants to look away. “Do you regret it?” Claude asks after several heartbeats.

“No.” Dimitri shakes his head, bracing his sweaty hands on his knees.

“Then why were you avoiding me? Is it just for appearances?” Claude asks. “Or did someone find out? Please tell me Felix didn’t find out.”

Dimitri clenches his jaw. “I don’t know.” He forces himself to take a deep breath and relays his conversation with Felix to Claude in a low voice. Claude doesn’t say anything, but anger surfaces in his eyes.

“He said that to you? That early in the morning? Gods. What’s his problem?” Claude says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Dima.”

Dimitri blinks.

“Is it okay?” Claude asks with a grin, leaning forward to put a hand on Dimitri’s knee. “Can I call you that?”

“Yes,” Dimitri says. His voice sounds breathless even to his own ears.

Claude kisses him.

Dimitri lets out a small whimper of surprise as Claude leans forward and crushes their mouths together. But after that first taste, he reaches up to thread his fingers through Claude’s hair, pulling him closer, as close as he can. It’s true, he doesn’t regret anything they did before. He would do it again in a heartbeat. He would go _further_ in a heartbeat.

Claude’s teeth capture his lower lip, and Dimitri makes a sound at the feeling, leaning into Claude a little more. They really should have gone to his room. Then again, maybe everyone else is in the dormitory, and this room is safer than Claude’s, with fewer potential ears and eyes.

“ _Dima_ ,” Claude murmurs, dipping his head to kiss Dimitri’s neck, and damn if the sound of that doesn’t go straight to Dimitri’s arousal, emerging low and warm. He really shouldn’t be turned on right now, but Claude and his kisses, his touches, his scent, are all too much. Dimitri keeps one hand in Claude’s hair, trying to keep his voice down and Claude close to him, but not too close.

Claude’s hand snakes up Dimitri’s thigh, and before Dimitri can stop it, Claude has a hand on his hip, dangerously close to the space between his thighs. If Claude just doesn’t look, doesn’t touch, everything will be fine. He tells himself so, anyway.

All in one swift movement, Claude moves to kiss Dimitri on the mouth again, and his hand brushes Dimitri where he’s half hard. Dimitri gasps. Claude’s hand pauses. His eyes flick back up to Dimitri’s.

“Can I . . . ?” he begins, his mouth curving into a smirk.

“No,” Dimitri says. “No. Not here. I don’t know if anyone’s followed us, if anyone is around.”

“It’s half past midnight,” Claude says. “No one’s here. Besides, I closed the door. I can block it if you want.”

Dimitri feels his resolve crumbling. _It won’t hurt,_ his mind keeps whispering, and besides, he loathes the thought of walking back to the dormitory like this. “I want you,” he whispers to Claude, voice nearly breaking.

Claude moans low, nearly under his breath. He presses a hand between Dimitri’s thighs and starts to move it steadily, and Dimitri rolls his hips up into his hand, gasping at the friction. He reaches out for Claude and finds him only close enough for Dimitri to thread fingers in his hair. “Wait, Claude. Wait. Stop.”

For a heartbeat, Claude looks alarmed. “You okay? Did I hurt you?” he asks, his hand hovering an inch from Dimitri’s thigh.

“No, I just . . .” Dimitri’s heart is pounding, both from the pleasure and his nervousness about the whole situation. “I . . . I want you closer to me.”

Claude grins. “Oh, I see. Okay.” He stands up and takes Dimitri’s hand, guiding him up and across the room. “Come here.”

He leads them to a divan on the other side of the common room, letting Dimitri lie down first and then crawling on top of him, drawing him close for a kiss. Dimitri’s heart beats wildly at the thought that Claude might actually want him to— “Claude,” he says, breathless and worried.

“Hey, hey. You doing all right?” Claude’s hand is on his hip, and for a moment Dimitri can’t think around that contact. “Do you wanna stop?”

“No, I just—” Dimitri forces himself to take a breath. “I don’t want to . . . to undress. In here.”

“Wouldn’t ask you to unless you wanted to,” Claude says with a small smile. He kisses Dimitri again, and Dimitri feels the whole length of his body against him. When Claude rolls his hips, Dimitri feels that same friction right where he needs it. He has to clamp his lips shut on a moan.

“Feel okay, Dima?” Claude asks. Dimitri puts an arm around him, tight, holding him close, and thrusts up into him. Claude draws in a sharp breath. He recovers quickly and leans in to kiss Dimitri’s neck. “Yeah . . . that’s nice. Just like that.”

He moves back against Dimitri, and Dimitri holds on as long as he can before he unravels, gripping tight to Claude as he cries out, unable to stop himself. He feels Claude’s breath against his ear. “D- _Dimitri_ , gods—”

Claude shudders against him and then goes mostly still, lapping at the warm skin just beneath Dimitri’s ear and murmuring his name over and over. Dimitri feels like he might crash headfirst into sleep. He closes his eyes, ready to give in to it, but Claude whispers, “We definitely can’t stay here, Dima, we really need to clean up and go back to the dormitory,” and Dimitri sighs.

Claude is on his feet and collecting tissues to clean them up in a couple of heartbeats, but Dimitri can barely bring himself to move. He opens one eye to watch Claude undo the ties on his uniform pants, watches him wipe himself down with tissues, unable to avert his eyes. He wonders if this is all just some sort of dream he had after he fell asleep in the library. If it’s not . . . what if someone was in the hall? What if someone heard them?

“You’re all red,” Claude says, handing Dimitri a square of tissues. “You okay?”

Dimitri swallows hard. “Um.” He takes the tissues from Claude and hastily cleans himself up, trying to figure out what to say and trying to keep himself as hidden as possible, even though he knows Claude has already _seen_ him. “I don’t . . . I’m . . . What if . . .”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching you lose your words,” Claude says and kisses his temple. “But hey. Listen. I’m sure we’re fine, but if anything happens, just blame me, okay? Just say it’s my fault.”

Dimitri feels his blush deepen. “Can I . . . Could I . . . stay in your room tonight?”

“Of course you can,” Claude says with a grin. “That invitation always stands.”

* * *

Later, the two of them lie together in Claude’s bed. Dimitri has been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and at last Claude sleepily rolls over and presses a kiss to his shoulder. “Can’t sleep, Dima?”

“No.” Dimitri sighs. “I can’t stop thinking about what might happen if someone finds out about us.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Claude says gently. “Please. It’s not like we’d get in trouble. Besides, I can handle whatever happens. Leave all that to me.” He strokes Dimitri’s cheek. “Do you want me to kiss you until you forget? Or maybe I need to put my mouth in other places?”

Dimitri feels heat rush to his cheeks, and he hopes Claude won’t see him blushing so easily in the darkness. “Um—no, you really don’t need to do that.”

Claude gives a low laugh. “Okay. That invitation is open too, though, Dima.”

Allowing himself a small smile, Dimitri pulls Claude to him, buries his face in his neck. “Thank you,” he says, and allows Claude’s arms around him, his warmth, to guide him to sleep.

* * *

In the evening once classes have ended, many days later, Claude and Dimitri sit together in the library, across from one another. Dimitri is studiously looking down at his textbook, but every time Claude glances up at him, he’s rewarded with the sight of Dimitri’s pale cheeks flushing. At last, deciding that Dimitri is sufficiently distracted, Claude leans forward, resting a hand over one of Dimitri’s.

“What do you think they’d say,” he begins in a whisper.

“I can only imagine what they’re already saying,” Dimitri answers, glancing off to the side.

“The heir to Faerghus and the heir to Leicester, studying together,” Claude says with a grin. “The head of the Golden Deer House must have found someone else to join him in his schemes.”

Dimitri shakes his head, but a small smile graces his lips, too, and Claude longs to lean forward and kiss him there.

“What if,” Claude begins again, his voice lower than before, “I asked you to the ball?”

Dimitri’s eyebrows shoot up, and for a moment Claude just wants to take his face in his hands, kiss him, and tell him it was only a joke. Purely harmless. Then Dimitri says, “The ball is during the Ethereal Moon, Claude. Wouldn’t they just say you’re getting ahead of yourself a bit?”

Claude laughs under his breath. This time he can’t help himself. He takes Dimitri’s hand and presses a soft, silent kiss to the back of it. “I suppose they would,” he says. “But really, Dimitri. If I asked you to be my date to the ball, would you say no?”

“Of course I wouldn’t say no,” Dimitri says, his smile so warm it makes Claude’s chest hurt. “If I weren’t with you then . . . I would be distracted all night, wondering where you are and whether you’re having fun.”

“Not nearly as much fun as if you were there, naturally,” Claude says. He leans forward on the table. “I really wanna kiss you right now, Dima.”

“ _Claude_ ,” Dimitri says. Claude knows this utterance of his name just means _Other people are in this room, too, and we’ve managed to avoid the worst of the gossip, so why would you dig us a deeper hole now?_

He tips his head to the side and gives Dimitri a pleading look. “Please?”

Dimitri flips the book on the table shut and takes Claude’s hand, guiding him up. “Get your things. I’d like to find somewhere more private for us to study.”

That translates roughly to _I just want to get out of this library before I’m any more tempted to kiss the hell out of you._ Claude has to suppress a grin as he gathers his books and follows Dimitri.

* * *

“Did you guys _hear_?” Hilda practically shouts at the Golden Deer classroom after class gets out and their professor leaves. Most of the Golden Deer are sitting at or on desks, studying or lounging or chatting. Hilda stands with her hands braced on one table as if she’s about to make an important announcement.

“Hear what?” Ignatz asks. Lorenz is smiling like he already knows. From the front of the room, Claude watches them, perched on a desk. He already has a bad feeling about where this is going, but he doesn’t want to say anything, doesn’t want to implicate himself.

“Our Prince Dimitri has a date to the ball!” Hilda says. “Apparently a girl asked him to go with her, but he said he couldn’t because he’s already going with someone!”

Lorenz, still smirking, cuts a glance at Claude. So he suspects something. Claude isn’t sure if he knows the whole story or is just guessing at his role in it, but he and Hilda have been rather resourceful on this one. He’ll give them that.

“Who do you think it is?” Raphael pipes up, but Hilda shakes her head.

“I don’t suppose it’s my place to make assumptions like that about Dimitri’s personal life,” Hilda says with a smile. Claude resists the urge to roll his eyes. He’s really never going to hear the end of this.

“I don’t see why you shouldn’t,” Lorenz says. “Who do _you_ all think it is?”

Ignatz shakes his head. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“Me neither!” Raphael says.

“Must be someone he wants to protect,” Leonie pipes up. “At least until the ball. If he hasn’t told his own classmates to prevent any word from getting out . . . I don’t know. He must really care about them.”

Claude barely refrains from breaking into a grin at this. He stands up from the desk he’s sitting on. “Sorry, guys, just remembered I have a meeting to get to. I’ll see you all later,” he says, not even caring that this is the chance Hilda and Lorenz need to tell the rest of his classmates who Dimitri is really going to the ball with.

* * *

The stairs up the Goddess Tower are many and unrelenting, but Claude, tipsy as he is, can barely bring himself to give a damn, especially when he has the privilege of leaning on Dimitri’s shoulder until they reach the top.

They’ve been dancing and mingling with classmates all night, pretending not to be as close as they really are, not to have gone as far as they have. They’ve been drinking champagne, too, and Claude is in no way displeased at the fact that he’s more intoxicated than Dimitri. He would have guessed any day that Dimitri wouldn’t drink much. He did accept glasses from the others’ occasional offering hands, but not more than two or three, if Claude remembers correctly. Anyway, if he’s being honest, he’s happy to be the tipsy one, leaning heavily on Dimitri and pressing his face into the pale skin of his neck.

“Dima.”

“Yes?”

“I really like you. I hope you know that.”

Dimitri reaches up to stroke Claude’s hair, and Claude makes a low sound of satisfaction. “I do know that, and I’m glad,” Dimitri says softly. “I like you a lot, too.”

“Good,” Claude says. He settles his head on Dimitri’s shoulder. “Are you gonna kiss me or not? I thought we had this discussion about the Goddess Tower.”

Dimitri laughs a little. “Those two things aren’t related, Claude.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever,” Claude says affectionately, flapping a hand at him. “But I’m here and you’re here, and we haven’t been able to be _alone_ alone all night, since we’ve been surrounded by our classmates. Also, I just . . . really want you to kiss me.”

“I can’t say I’m not happy to oblige.” Dimitri leans in, cupping Claude’s cheek in his hand, and kisses him, slowly, softly. He tastes sweet like the champagne they had. Claude runs his tongue eagerly along Dimitri’s lower lip, and Dimitri puts a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back. “All right, I don’t want to go too far tonight.”

“No?” Claude grins at him, placing a suggestive hand on his chest.

“Who can even say how many people will be here at the Goddess Tower?” Dimitri asks. “Everyone’s been talking about the legend for the last month. Tonight would not be a good night for us to get caught.”

“If you insist, Dima,” Claude says and kisses his jaw. Dimitri flushes, and Claude feels his smile grow wider at the sight. “But anyway. The Goddess Tower. What was it they said? If two people make a promise here, their fates will be intertwined? Something like that?”

“Were you not paying attention, or did you just have that much to drink?” Dimitri asks, but there’s a small smile on his own lips. “Yes, indeed, that’s what they say. Are you planning on making a promise with me, Claude?”

“Yes,” Claude says without missing a beat. His response brings the flush back to Dimitri’s cheeks. “What promise should we make, my love?”

“Now you’re just being dramatic,” Dimitri says, looking not at all unhappy about it.

“No, no,” Claude says. “What would you say we should promise?”

Dimitri blushes harder, and Claude laughs, kissing his cheek. “Hey, what are you thinking about? You can’t just go quiet like that and keep it from me,” he says.

“I was thinking . . .” Dimitri doesn’t meet Claude’s eyes. “Do you think we’ll still be together five years from now? I’m sure a lot will happen between now and then, but . . . I don’t want this to end when we leave the academy.”

“Gods, Dima,” Claude says with a faint smile. He climbs over Dimitri so that his knees frame Dimitri’s hips, and then he cups Dimitri’s face in his hands while Dimitri’s hands find his waist. “I would love to still be with you five years from now.”

“I know it won’t be easy, seeing as how we’re both heirs to different regions, but . . .” Dimitri’s eyes are full of a trembling hope as he looks up at Claude. “Can we promise to keep in touch, no matter what happens?”

“I can promise you that,” Claude says, gently. He kisses Dimitri again, drawing a low sound of surprised satisfaction from him. “No matter what happens, my love. Don’t lose sight of this.”

Dimitri wraps his arms around Claude’s neck and pulls him in closer, and Claude wonders if he can feel the smile on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> i know there's no divan in the common room but i can't be bothered to care lol.
> 
> finally i actually finished one of my many wips haha. come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/iridiumring92) if you feel like it :D


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